Extended Quest
by yoazzisgrass
Summary: After the battle with Ultimecia, Squall and the gang exits her lair, only to plunge headfirst into a new dispute, and find a new freind. My cousin and I made this on another site, but no one read it, so i transferred it here. mild language, descriptive fi
1. Chapter 1

As Squall exits Ultimicia's lair, he wonders to his next doings. He has just defeated the greatest sorceress the planet had to offer. As he loads his lionheart gunblade, he looks towards the people he has come to know over his venture. He looks on them with pride, knowing they have done a fine job.

BOOM! A Firara spell was just launched nearby. Then the familiar sound of a gunblade attacking it's enemy. "What the heck?" Irvine whips his head around to see the explosion. Squall looks to the direction of the sound noticing a huge fireball arising from the ground. "Should we check it out?" Irvine asked the leader of the group. More spells where being unleashed, this time a Thundaga (sp?), as well as an Aero. "I think we should check it out" he fingers the spell to bring forth Eden, making sure that he can arise, if need be "Let's go then," Irvine said as he waited for Squall to make a move. The spells became fiercer, the sounds of gunblade strikes becoming fiercer as well. "Lets go" They move through the underbrush, trying to move with all available speed.

As Squall and the others moved closer, the sounds got louder to the point where you could hear a female voice calling out the names of the spells. As they near the site, they see the ground had been cleared for several yards and was scorched beyond recognition. Standing in the middle of the scorched wasteland was a female of their age holding a gunblade. She had shoulder length auburn hair and green eyes; wearing black lowrider jeans, a red tank top with a black wind breaker jacket, a belt hanging off her right hip with a holster for her gunblade on the left side. She was standing over a talisman, glaring at it, her left fist clenched so tight that her knuckles where white. As Squall approaches he wonders who this person is

"Whoa. Who are you?" Irvine voiced everyone's question.

She looked over to the group and stared for a moment. She composed herself and placed her gunblade in her belt. "My name is Angelita. And you?" "I'm Irvine." "I'm Squall. What are you doing all the way out here?" "That is none of your concern," she said and picked up the talisman, which was cut in half. She placed it in her pocket and looked over to the group. "I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing out here?" "We just came from defeating the sorceress, Ultimicia, and we heard your battle. So we came to see if you were in over your head, which you weren't, and bail you out if necessary." She sighed, "Your concern is appreciated. Now, I must get back to my garden. I'm sure it's in extreme chaos right now."

Squall looks and sees no garden's nearby, so he assumes it's far beyond here. "Where is it?" She sighed and brushed the bangs out of her face. Great, she thought. She looked to Squall. "Underwater," she said simply. Squall is absolutely confused by this. "Where?" "Underwater. My grandfather wasn't stupid when he started it. He built an underwater garden. It's safe from everything that happens up here." Squall has never heard of this kind of garden, but there had been weirder things in the world. "Interesting. How do you get to it?" "There's a special tunnel that can only be opened by a member of the gardens staff." "Which is a good security measure, in case you don't want anyone in", or out, he thought to himself. "Only our SeeD members can leave the garden," she said, like she knew what he was thinking. She sighed and brushed her hair out of her face. "You wanna rest up? Battling a sorceress isn't easy." "Sure" piped Rhinoa. "Couldn't hurt" said Squall. "All right. Let's go." Irvine is the most enthusiastic. She nodded. "Follow me," she said and headed off towards the coast.

As they traveled, Squall wonders as to how high a SeeD member she is, and if she has accumulated any GF's of her own. This occupies his thoughts until they near the coast. As they reached the coast, a little black Carbuncle (sp?) ran up and jumped into Angelita's arms. She chuckled, "Hey there, Kuro." Squall notices this. "Seems you know this area pretty well, and know its inhabitants" She looked back at Squall. "I've known Kuro since he was a baby," she said as she petted him. "And I'm also one of the few from my garden allowed up here." "So your garden has few SeeD members, or do you not involve yourselves in the matters outside?" "Both, actually. Once you enroll in my garden you rarely see the surface until your training is complete. Then you get transferred around the word to organizations that require assistance. Once your mission is completed, you can return to the garden or stay on the surface." "Interesting. That sounds like a good way to keep a garden."

She smirked. "Have any of you seen a Instructor in you gardens that seemed a bit... unorthodox with their training methods?" "I've seen a few yeah." Irvine states "Yes. I was surprised because all their students had the highest SeeD exam scores I had ever seen," Quistis stated. She smirked again. "I can tell what garden they trained in, but I think you can figure it out for yourselves." "Let me guess, yours" Squall states, obviously figuring the comment out. She nodded. "Yeah. See. Told ya you could figure it out." She brushed her hair out of her face and Kuro jumped on her shoulder. "Our training methods are a bit different from yours, but it easily rounds out the trainee's skills. They'll be ready for anything."

"So, with all this training, how many GF's have been found in your halls?" "We have a few, but they're limited to the SeeD members, which are few". Squall wonders on a question. "And their amount of power?" "They've mastered all their abilities and are level 80 or higher." Squall is impressed. "Whoa, they're good. Though their no match for my Eden." She smirks. "Think so?" "So long as were on good terms, I wouldn't want to bring him out to see for just you."

She smiles and looks at Kuro, who is snickering. "Good, 'cause Kuro here can easily prevent you from using any type of GF." Squall is visibly surprised. "What?" "Just as I said. Kuro can prevent my opponents from using GF's. In case you haven't figured it out yet, Kuro is one of my GF's." "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." Squall gives a blank stare. She chuckled, but she couldn't help it. Kuro chuckled as well. "New to this aren't ya?" "Maybe, but if I'm new, then I'd hate to see the classification you'd give Ultimecia. She smirked. "If your GF cares for you enough, it can break free and travel around with you, like Kuro." Kuro then nuzzled Angelita affectionately.

Squall thinks on this, maybe he could get Shiva to do that "Is there anything tricky to it?" Angelita thought about it. "Hmmm... I've had Kuro since I was little and it's been awhile since my last GF broke free." She paused, "Well, there's nothing really that tricky about it. It's just like making friends with people. Respect them and they'll respect you. That kind of thing." She smiled then quickly added, "Oh, and it helps if you fight with your GF's instead of just letting them fight on their own." "Good to know, but I don't think all of my GF's are sizably useable in that purpose."

Zell just can't stay quiet any longer. "Dont mean to nag, but when are we gonna get there?" "They can still live in the cards they where originally in and still come out whenever they please. Or you can teach them a special skill with a scroll that we have in the garden." An opening appears in the ground in front of Angelita. "And we can go now." She jumped into the hole, even if there was a ladder to climb down.

"Bold, isn't she" "Yes, but at this moment, she's invited us, so we might as well follow" He climbed down the ladder and quickly discovered that the tunnel was so high-tech, it made his head spin. There was an underwater subway system. The plastics around them where see through and undetectable due to the fact that it was surrounded by rock. Angelita looked at them. "All aboard," she said, her hand on a panel. They boarded the car and settled in for what appeared to be a long ride

She smirked and held onto a railing that was in the car. In a few seconds, the car stopped and the door opened. "Well, that was a bit slower than normal." Squall , for the ump-tenth time today has been totally surprised. "And I thought that was gonna be a long one." Zell is just plain confused. "Wait, that was long? "Yeah, just a bit. It's normally an instant trip. This one took a few seconds. I'll have to tell the maintenance guys to check on it."

She got off and signaled them to follow her. As they followed, Squall took in the sights, and noticed there was a different air down here. Restless, yet secure.

Angelita escorted them throughout the garden. "Well, there are a few things we can do. First off, is anyone hungry?" Zell just loses it. "ARE YOU KIDDING? What kind of question is that to ask when I'm around" "I guess it couldn't hurt" Angelita is surprised by Zell's outburst. "I just met you, so I wouldn't know." She sighed and Kuro's ears perked up. "I see, they're practicing." Everyone looks around, and several groups of people are doing things, such as acrobatics, music, or writing presentations. Squall asks, "What are they practicing for?" "Oh, the Garden Festival. The groups are each practicing."

" So are you doing anything? "She sighed, "Yeah. Tyler's making me sing for the festival." "Then I am to assume that if Tyler is MAKING you do this, then he must have some pull over you." "Yeah. The fact he's been my best friend since I came here and the fact he has a lot of dirt on me." "So is it someone that we want to meet or avoid?" "He's a teddy bear normally. He's not really that bad of a guy." "And yet you still won't go out with me," Tyler said, walking over to the group. She shook her head, sighing. "I'm guessing your Tyler. I'm Squall" "I'm Zell" "Irvine." He blinked. "Not often you bring upper world people down here." "They're SeeD's. I offered them a place to stay." "And before I'm surprised again, do you have any GF's roaming around on their own?" Tyler nodded. "I have a few roaming around."

"We also have a special training center where you can capture GF's." "IIIIIIIIII think were full at the moment." Zell interrupts. "Speaking of full, where's the food you promised. I'm nowhere near that mark right now." "Zell Zell Zell, THINK OUTSIDE YOUR STOMACH RIGHT NOW! Sorry 'bout that." She chuckled. "It's all right. Come on, I'll take you to the cafeteria." "Hey, you better not forget about the Festival tomorrow!" "I won't!" She lead the others to the cafeteria.

As they neared, they got the smells of some of the finest foods they had ever had, and some new scents that they assumed were only found in the underground

"Well, this is it." It was more like a five star restaurant than a garden cafeteria.

As Zell looked around, he couldn't find were to get his food. "Where do I get some food?" "Zell, these are the wrong type of questions to be asking in a place your just visiting. In other words, BE PATIENT!" She chuckled a bit. "Right over there," she said and pointed to the small line by a counter. "Just go over there and choose what you want." Everyone piled into line and got their food. As for Squall, he chose something that smelled good, but he had never seen it before. Angelita just got something small, but it smelled awesome. She held some up to Kuro, which he happily ate.

The group spotted a circular table big enough to fit them all and sat down. he looked over what everyone else had and it all looked appetizing. "Man this stuff is good! My compliments to the chef." "They're all Angelita's recipies." Tyler comes to the group. "Do you ever stop following me?" Squall visibly jumps from startlement "And could you possibly not make me jump like that again?" He chuckled. "Sorry about that. So, Angie, what are you gonna sing at the Festival?" he asked sitting down next to her. She sighed, "I don't know yet." Squall leans back. "We get to know more about you in each passing second, huh." She sighed. "Why do you keep nagging me about it, Tyler?" "Maybe because you're anti-social and need to actually participate in Garden activities instead of just sponsoring them." Squall wants to break the tension a bit. "So, uh, Tyler. How are you doing?" "I'm good."

"He's hitting on me. Of course he's good." Zell chuckles. "Zell, don't even start"

"Come on. Give us a sample of what you're gonna be singing." "I told you. I don't know yet." "Better make it up now. The Festival's tomorrow." "I wouldn't mind hearing it." "This ought to be interesting." "Bring on the music. Lights, camera, action!" She mumbled some curses under her breath. "Fine."

_I woke up late  
Guess I'm never really early  
I hesitate, only to fail  
I get so tired of procrastinating  
I need a change_

I can't do this  
I can't do this  
I can't do this by myself  
I can't do this  
I can't do this  
Oh, God, I need your help

I'm standing still  
I'm oh, so peaceful  
I can't pretend that I'm fine  
I get so ill, crazy agitated  
When I've not really died

Press into Me  
Breathe Me in  
Bask in Me  
You'll be free to do anything

Squall is amazed at the guts it would take to sing such a thing in public. "Interesting." Tyler blinked. Angelita laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not singing that." "Now it's getting even more interesting." She smiled. "You'll have to wait 'till the festival to find out what I'm really singing." Zell speaks up. "I can deal with that." Squall is disappointed. "Oh well" "Well, it's tomorrow so we don't have long to wait." She became a bit agitated that Tyler was still there, hovering over her. "Don't you have trainees to be watching over?" "Aw, shit. All right. I'll see ya later." He smiled at the group and then ran off.

"So he's after you. Can't help to admit he is rather like you" "Don't listen to him, he's nuts" "So I've noticed." She sighed and leaned back. "So, what do you want to do after this? We have a lot here." "Does your garden have a practice range? After Ultimicia, I've forgotten how to take down the smaller threats of the world" Zell makes a joke attempt. "You guys got a spa or somthin'?" Squall is very embarrassed right now. "Zell, this is the last time I'm going to say this. SHUT UP! Sorry for the outburst." "Ah, don't worry about it. Yeah we got a training center. It's got different areas for different levels." She turned to Zell, "And yes, we do have spas and stuff like that." "Thank you for your hospitality." "Dude, I was just joking, but I'll take the offer." "Tell me you guys have guards that can watch him."

She laughed a bit; it had been awhile since she had a chance to be just a normal person. "Well, are we ready to go?" Squall finishes his food. "Lets go" Zell yells excitedly. "Here we go!"

She got up and led them to the directory in the center of the garden. "To the left is the spa and to the northwest is the training center. Pick a type of enemy you want to fight and have fun. There's also a resting spot in each area if you need to use it." Zell faces the other direction. "Later" Squall is still minorly embarrassed. "Thank you, and tell me you can get those guards" She chuckled. "Don't worry. Every teacher and supervisor here are official members of SeeD." "Thank goodness" Angelita smiled. "Need a training partner?" Squall puts this to thought. "Maybe, if I wanna go hard on myself." She smiled. "I won't hold you back." It doesn't bother Squall any , so she lets her come. "Lead the way."


	2. Chapter 2

We enter to see Angelita and Squall About to enter the training center. "What level would you like to train at?" Squall considers this point. "Hmm, how many are there?" Angelita responds simply. "Well, there's quite a few. There's a different area for each element within a special quad for different levels. The first is for pre-SeeDs. The Second for new SeeDs, the third for advanced SeeDs and the fourth for S-class SeeDs." "Hmm, well I am an S-class, so lets go with that. Ohh, and before we begin, how big is this center? Eden is pretty huge."

She smiled, "Don't worry about it. It's big enough to deal with any GFs. After all, we have a GF center as well." "Let us begin then" She smiled and lead Squall to the S-class quad. She looked around and smiled at the fire and ice sector, but then turned to Squall. "Any particular elements or just random?" "Random, I have all elements covered" She nodded. "All right. Let's see what you got." Battle starts

... On the surface, an evil force broods, gathering force and looking for the opportunity to strike. At its head, a shadowed figure gives orders, preparing a strike of enormous magnitude, and laughing all the time...

(i hate writing out FF battles...) they fight, battle ends. Angelita smiled, "That was kind easy..." Even though there were eight enemies. "And I didn't even pull out Eden, that was a good battle though." She chuckled, "Yeah. I guess it's easier when you have someone training with you." "Yep. Any other preferences? Or do you want to call it a day?" "It doesn't really matter to me. Whatever you want to do." Angelita is really trying to avoid practicing for the festival.

Squall has a bit of a thirst. "A battle like that leaves me really thirsty. How 'bout a drink?" Angelita agrees "All right. There's a rest area in here." She smiled and led Squall back to the rest area. "What do you want?" she asked him. "I've heard of some interesting drinks on the western continent of the planet. Had one too, and they were pretty good. Got any of those?" "Uh. I don't know. I don't get the food here." Some sweat dropped form her brow. "How about a garden specialty?" "Sure, why not. I'll try it out" Squall is not so bad that he won't try anything new. She smiled and pressed a button on the console. To the side, a sparkling light blue liquid poured into a glass. When it finished, Angelita smiled and handed it to Squall. "Here you go." "Thank you." as he drinks his glass he remembers about the others and wonders how they are doing.

Angelita stood there, waiting for Squall to finish his drink. She didn't really have anything to do today. "Aw, shit!" she shouted in her head, her face sort of reflecting her thoughts. As Squall finishes his drink in one long pull, he looks to her and sees a bad expression on her face "Anything wrong?" "I forgot. I'm supposed to do a couple of demonstrations today." She covered her eyes with her hand; she can't believe she forgot she had to show the second years how to catch a GF. Squall really doesn't want to disrupt her teaching. "Ahh, should I let you go then? Or would you like me to accompany you?" "Well, I could get a couple of other demonstrations done a lot easier with your help. That is, if you don't mind some one-on-one." Angelita's expression reflects a heartening mood. "That wouldn't be too bad, I'll go for it." She nods, "All right. Thank you." She smiles, "Well, let's go."

She lead Squall to a classroom where there where lots of 13-14 year olds chatting away. As he walks in he is reminded of his experience in haven't checked in a while so don't butcher me if I'm wrong Balamb, when he got this class done, or at least its equivalent. "All right, settle down!" the instructor said in a firm voice. "Today, the headmaster of our garden, Ms. Angelita, will be giving you some demonstrations. I expect you to pay attention. You _will_ be tested on this!" He sighed as the class moaned and turned to Angelita. "They're all yours," he said and stepped to the side wall.

Angelita walked to the front of the classroom, looking professional, but also normal at the same time. "All right. I'll try to keep this entertaining as possible. First, I'm going to be showing some battle techniques with the help of my friend, Squall," she motioned to Squall, "Then I'll show you what you all want to learn; How to capture a GF." The class murmured excitedly and Angelita smiled a bit. As he stands at the door, waiting for his cue, squall remembers his class on the subject, and for the weirdest reason he remembers the safety's off on his gunblade. In a slightly noticeable move he turns it on, prompting a question from the normal teacher.

He whispers a statement into his ear. "Please keep in mind that weapons are not liked in the classroom, the kids get real jumpy around them." "Sorry 'bout that, just came from the training center, not to mention I'm a guest from outside, which means I don't have anywhere to put it." Angelita overheard the conversation and smirked a bit. "All right. You all know how to use your weapons properly and should know what to do if and when you lose your weapon at some point." The class nods. "All right. Now, each of you have a different weapon in your dorms, but do any of you know which weapon is best?" The teacher looked at Angelita confused. "Shot gun!" "Nuh uh! Fists!" "Katana!"

"You're all wrong," she said, cutting off the students before it got into an all out argument. "The answer is _your_ weapon. There really is no statistic advantage with weapons. It all depends on the person wielding the weapon." She turned to Squall and signaled for him to come over. As he strides over, he loosens the straps to the sheath. "For myself, this gunblade is the perfect weapon." He takes it out of sheath. The teacher is somewhat surprised. "Isn't your weapon a gunblade as well, Ms. Angelita?"

"Yes it is. I prefer it, but for this exercise, I'll be using a different weapon, to prove my point." She went into her back pocket and pulled out a pair of metal gloves. (Think Zell's weapon.) Squall is amazed at how much she knows over him, yet they are both of the same age. "Multi-weaponed are we?" She shrugged, "It comes in handy when something happens to my gunblade." She turned her attention back to the class, "Now, Squall and I will engage in a mach battle. We won't use any magic; just our weapons and we'll go slower than we would in the field so you can catch our actions." She turned to Squall and signaled that she was ready. Before the battle begins, Squall dumps his ammo cartridge so that a weapons discharge wont be lethal.

To start, he starts with a smooth downward chop, aimed towards the gloves for minimal real damage. Angelita held her hands up, using the metal backing on her gloves to block Squall's attack. She pushed up on the gunblade and flowed with a backwards flip and kicked the gunblade away from her so Squall couldn't attack her as she flipped away from him. Melee attacks continue for about five minutes going slow enough so that the class gets the feel for watching the battle. They quicken the pace, until the attacks come back to back. Squall is thankful for dumping his clip, because his finger has stroked the trigger many times now. He becomes weary, growing more exhausted by the second. Angelita noticed how many times Squall has pulled the trigger on his gunblade and was thankful he emptied his clip. Angelita's moves where more fluid than Squall's due the fact she was lighter and slightly smaller. She noticed Squall was getting tired; his breathing was getting heavier. Hers was too, mind you, but she was capable of drawing out this battle. But due to class schedules, she thought it would be better to end this quickly. After dodging one of Squall's attacks, she slid to the side then dashed toward Squall, using an uppercut to knock his gunblade out of his hands.

"Ms. Angelita wins," The teacher said, acting like a referee. The class stared in amazement. They all thought Squall would win due to he had a blade compared to Angelita's gloves. Angelita stood up, breathing a bit heavily. "As you can see, you shouldn't judge an opponent on their weapon." Breathing heavily, Squall compliments Angelita. "That was a good match. I'd hate to be on the other end of your gunblade." She smiled at Squall then looked to the class. "After lunch, I'll take you to the GF Center." The class got excited then left for lunch.

The Teacher is also impressed. "That was an excellent match Ms. Angelita, Mr. Squall." He bowed slightly then went to lunch as well. "Think we should head there too? I'll bet you the others will be there and I want to check up on Zell, make sure nothing's broken." She nodded. "Yeah. I guess we should go. I just hope we don't run into Tyler," she sighed. "He seems to annoy you. Other than the fact that he appears lonely and wants your attention, what's wrong with him?" "That's just it. I can't stand him being around me all the time. I'm a loner by nature, ever since I was a kid. I can't remember why, but I was always against having friends," she said with a sigh, "And a boyfriend when I don't even want friends? He's pushing it, don't you think?" Squall considers this. "Well, when you put it that way, it makes sense." She sighed. "I just... I mean he has been my best friend since I came here. I don't want to be a total bitch like I am to everyone else who asks me out." Squall is now lost in this topic. "Well, then, I don't know. Never had this problem." "Lucky for you." Angelita yells out.

"Yeah. Well, not to get off topic, but we've arrived." She shrugged. "I kind of didn't like the topic anyway," she said as she glanced around the cafeteria. Squall looked around, and sure enough, Zell was here, chowing down. "I'm gonna go see about everyone else, make sure there ok." She nodded, "All right." She walked over to the bar and ordered some lunch; just something light. As Squall walked forward, he noticed another person in their midst, Tyler. He wondered if they had been getting along, and if so should they be avoided. To be safe, he chose a table halfway across the room and waited for Angelita's return.

She sighed; she knew Tyler was there. "God, just leave me alone today," she mumbled and grabbed her lunch. She saw Squall and walked over to him, setting the tray down on the table before she sat down. "I'm guessing you noticed." She nodded. "Yeah. Well, Tyler's showing some of the first years the basic fighting things, ya know; how to draw magic, etc." "Ah, well you know you had to run into him somewhere." She nods. "We're the only high-ranking SeeD members from this Garden; of course we're going to run into each other." "Wait, your teachers aren't high-level SeeD's?" She shook her head. "No. They're just certified teachers who give the basics of everything. They give the students all the information then either Tyler or myself give demonstrations." Squall understands it now. "Ah. So should we confront, or stay separate?" "He's with a class right now," she said, glancing over to him. "He's going to be taking them to the surface in a bit." "Ah. So for now lets just enjoy some lunch." "Yeah," she said. She smiled at Squall; she found him to be good company.

...In a large hall, we see a force of thousands, gathered in their separate platoons, all-prepping for boarding of their separate assault ships. We see a shadowed figure in the foreground, mulling over battle plans. He receives a communication on a terminal near him...

He has a dark, evil tone of voice. Think James Earl Jones(original Darth Vader) "All is proceeding as planned. Our assault has been moved back, but that is only a minor inconvenience."

"Yes, my master."…

As lunch came to an end, Angelita seemed a bit distracted. Her thoughts where racing and she seemed kind of solemn. Squall wants to break the silence. "So where should we go now. Only half the day is done, and I'm not used to only doing things for half the day." "Well, I still have to demonstrate how to capture a GF. Wanna tag along?" Squall concedes. "Sure, why not. This should be easy enough." She chuckled. "That depends what method you're used to." Squall stands. "Well, then let us proceed, and see if I learn anything new." She smiled and nodded. She rose from her seat and headed for the GF center where the class would meet up with her. As Squall followed, he took in the scenery that was implanted here. There where plenty of plant life in the center. It was just like it was on the surface in a giant garden type setting; there where even little forest animals running around.

Angelita stopped at one particular area; there was a statue of a man in his late twenties holding a gunblade in a business like pose. Squall asks, "Who is this man?" She looked up at the statue and smiled slightly. "The man who founded this Garden; my grandfather." "Very interesting. So is your gunblade a pass down from him? Or is it your own make?" She smirked. "No, Gramps was buried with his gunblade. Mine's similar, but only because I used his blueprints with a few of my own modifications." "Ahh, I see." She turned around when she heard the class coming up behind them. They where excited and very chatty. She walked over to them and tried to get them to quiet down.

Following her, he remembers when he was in a class similar to this, though he wasn't one for rowdiness. After she got the class's attention, she went about explaining on what she was going to do. "All right. As you all know, GF's run free in here. Most of them are low levels, especially in this area. Here is where you'll get your first GF's unless I have personally assisted you in here. Now, I'll demonstrate on how to capture GF's without Drawing them from another monster." Tuning out the din of the class and the lecture of Angelita, he remembers when he first got his GF's. All that while ago.

... We see a main ship high above several dozen craft, flying over an ocean. On the bridge of the main ship, one man stands alone on the main deck, but still shrouded in shadow. "Our destination is nearing Captain, I suggest you move our force into assault formation." "Yes sir!"…

"All right. Now, I'll demonstrate, then you each can go around the area and collect your own GF's. No more than two can be captured at this time. If you wish to capture more, come see me sometime tomorrow. Any questions before I begin?" The class was silent. "Okay. Watch carefully." She turned to Squall. "You too." The class snickered a bit but quieted down as a large lion type GF stepped forward at Angelita. She smirked and unsheathed her gunblade. She sliced at the GF and then when it was weak enough, she pulled out a talisman and threw it at the beast. The beast quickly fused with the talisman and turned into a GF card that could be junctioned.

She turned to the class. "Now, you all won't be able to capture one that fast, and you won't get any as high leveled as that one. The level GF that you encounter depends on your level as well as the level of your GF's that you have all ready acquired. Now since most of you don't have any, you'll attract level one GF's. If the GF is not level one and is out of your league, I expect you to contact your teacher, myself, or even Squall." The class nodded and went off to find a GF in an excited sprint.

...We see the assailant again, but now revealed in the glow of light from a readout display, showing one half of his face, and a molten red eye. "Bring us in on vector 2-4. All Scouts open fire at range. Main fleet, prepare for landing!" An officer steps up. "Sir, intelligence reports city defenses are out of function. This May be easier than we thought." "Excellent. I shall then lead the main group myself. Lieutenant!" "Yes sir!" "Ready my assault shuttle. NOW!" "Yes sir!" "Soon all shall know the name…Haruto! Let the games begin." He starts laughing uncontrollably, and proceeds to his shuttle...


	3. Chapter 3

We see Squall and Angelita standing in the GF center. "So anything you would specifically like to do? Or would you like me to just wander and listen for the cries of the students?"

... The fleet reaches the shores of Sranton, striking at anything that moves. They all rush through the city, wreaking havoc, and destroying everything. At their head, Haruto goes forth, rushing towards the capitol house, to call forth his enemies. "The day has come. Squall! Show yourself to me, and I shall take pity upon you to kill you painlessly"…

…A shrouded man stood on a mountain, looking down at the city below. "Die a horrible death" he mumbled to himself…

Angelita froze; she could feel her heart stop. This only happened when _he_ was near. But he couldn't be in the garden. No, he was on the surface, but close. She grabbed her chest and caught herself on the nearby tree; her heart freezing like that was one of the most painful things she could go through. "Whoa, what's goin on? Are you alright?" He yells at the top of his lungs, "MEDIC!"

...Back in Sranton the destruction is massive. News crews begin to arrive, taping the event, and watching as all opposition is destroyed. At the square, Haruto waits, awaiting the arrival of the last order yet to be accomplished...

…The shrouded man smirked, the destruction being amusing to him…

One of the students saw what was happening and he immediately ran out of the Center and got Tyler. Tyler came running and caught Angelita just before she fell, and with Squall, got her to the ground gently. "Anggie.. come on.. don't die on me.." he pleaded softly as he tried to get her heart started up again. At this sight, Squall froze, but not of fear, not of surprise, but from anger.

He heads back in the direction of the cafeteria, hoping to still see his friends there. And they were. Zell sees Squall running towards them at breakneck speeds "Hey, what you runnin for?" Irvine already knows. "I think were about to go out for some trouble." As they leave, we hear a TV in the background talking about what has happened outside, and several dozen students crammed around it. "Gather everyone up, Angelita's gone down in the GF center, and she needs help NOW!"

…The shrouded man smirked at what happened and took his leave…

Angelita gasped as her heart started up again. It was so sudden; it was like it almost jumped out of her chest. She held her chest again, but loosely this time. Her paled face started to regain its color and she just lied there, still shaken by what happened. Tyler held Angelita, trying to comfort her; sadly, he knew what had happened.

As Squall returns, he sees Angelita back to life. "What the hell happened?" A lagging Quistis comes from behind. "Squall, you need to see this." A monitor comes to life in the center, and a newscast of the destruction is seen, followed by the ultimatum delivered by Haruto. "Good god. What the hell is he doing? He must be stopped." Tyler looked up at the screen and glared slightly. Angelita looked up at the screen, expecting to see someone else but she saw Haruto. Squall sees her look up. "And if your wondering, I am as clueless as you, but a man that evil HAS to be taken down."

Tyler speaks up. "Couldn't agree with you more, but if we're gonna attack someone who can do _that_ we need to learn more about him." Angelita finally got up, her color almost fully returned. She tried standing up; she made it, but she was a bit wobbly. "Angelita, take it easy. You should rest for a bit..." he sounded defeated as soon as he said it. "No way. I gotta kill the ass hole," she said and started out of the Center. Squall rallies the others. "Right on your tail. Lets go guys." Tyler looks back. "Wrong asshole, Squall, but I'm guess she'll wind up killing that one too..." he mumbled and got up and took over Angelita's class; he wasn't much of a fighter as he was an instructor.

Angelita took a detour to her room and grabbed something, then headed to her office, the headmaster's office. She went to her computer and started typing like crazy. Squall had remembered where the exit was, and he went there first. But it would not open for him. He then looked for Angelita, and was nowhere to be found for a few moments.

... Haruto was becoming impatient, and opened a communication to his master. "My lord, you had said they would be in this region, yet they have not arrived. Every news broadcaster across the planet is here, and yet it has been at least an hour's time. WHERE ARE THEY!" "Do not doubt my judgment. They are there, and another has joined their ranks. Be on guard, and the last one will offer HEAVY resistance. Be wise in your attack plans, and DO NOT order me around. I'd hate for my best commander to suffer a terrible fate on the lines. "Yes, my lord."...

After a few moments, Angelita ran out of her room; she has all her strongest spells, her gunblade was upgraded as high as she could afford; she was serious. She found Squall wandering around. "Squall, over here." Squall looks over to her. "Let's go. We tried to leave earlier, but the transport wouldn't work for us." Angelita replies simply. "It's because you're not registered. Now let's get going. I have an idea of who we're up against," she said as she opened the door for the transport. They boarded, and this time it was an instant trip. They come topside to a billowing smoke cloud a mile off, and sounds of explosions and magic summons all around them.

Irvine looks toward the smoke. "I'm guessing that's where were going." "If nothing else a good place to start," Angelita said as she cracked her knuckles and mentally psyched herself for the upcoming battle. They proceeded onward toward the city, making waste of whatever forces stood in their path. Angelita specifically was ruthless, making such fast attacks that the others would have to back off to avoid being hit themselves. As they reach the inner city, they find a pocket of resistance. It is what remains of the defensive garrison stationed there. It is here where Haruto makes himself known.

"Ah, Squall and friends. Why must you lay such waste? Hmm? Well I'm not going to beat around the bush. You have been deemed a threat and I must now eliminate it." Zell laughs at this reagalness in a psychopathic leader. "Is it just me, or is this guy a nutcase?" The rest reply at about the same time. "I agree" Angelita jumps forward, gunblade unsheathed, ready for battle. "All right, now I know you're too stupid to do all this on your own, so tell me who you're working for and _maybe_ I'll show ya a little mercy," she said as she glared at Haruto. "Ahh, so feisty. You must be the newcomer. Oh, if there were only a better way. Sadly, I must now eliminate you all."

Haruto leaps with a twin slash at both Squall and Zell, and both go on the defensive. Quistis casts one of their remaining hero's, and Irvine starts with a firaga. Immediately, Angelita charges with her gunblade. She manipulated one of her Ultima spells to combine with her attack just as she let the blade make contact with Haruto's body, of course pulling the trigger right after the blade made contact. Haruto counter-attacks with a sweeping chop to her at chest level. Angelita jumps back as Squall charges. Haruto leaps forward to meet his assault, and stops his gunblade between his two blades. Haruto front-flips to get behind Squall, and attacks his back.

Momentarily diverted, Angelita used a special talisman from her garden and placed it on Haruto's back so he couldn't get it off; a light shot out from the talisman and it electrocuted Haruto. Not willing to see what happens, Irvine starts pumping round after round into his body, and Rhinoa starts attacking. Squall and the others cease because they fear contact with him will result in a transfer of the talismans power to themselves. Angelita, knowing that the others are unfamiliar with the talisman and how it works, went back to slashing at Haruto. She kept using her gunblade and did a tremendous amount of damage with only a few hits. The end appears near, and Squall summons Eden to the battle. As the full brink of the attack reaches him, Eden is suddenly drained. Haruto laughs, and he becomes shrouded by a black cloud. Suddenly, Eden's attack is reflected back, though only at half strength.

"Stupid fools! You have restored me. Any and all attacks from a GF will only bring me back to life, and the power I don't use for restoration is given right back." Squall is stunned. "Crap, should have thought that through." Haruto goes back on the offensive, starting with a meteora and a twin-slash on Zell. He then rushes in on Quistis, attacking mercilessly at close range, where her whip is least effective. Squall and Zell dual attack on his right side, and knock him over. He flips up, and lands right behind the two, using both swords on each of them. As he fights, Angelita watches his lightning pace, and plans accordingly. Haruto zones in on Rhinoa, doing a massive amount of strikes in a few seconds, then flips backwards to clear from an attack. As he flips backwards, Angelita summons her own GF to the field. "I doubt this one could help you," Angelita said as she summoned a small, bat-light creature that perched on her shoulder.

The creature screeched loudly at Haruto, the sound vibrating the ground around him, causing it to collapse. It created a dust cloud around him, practically casting darkness on him. And the longer the screech lasted, the more HP drained from Haruto and given to the group. He can't get stronger from it because there is no strength in the attack, just sound waves. "Aghh." There's a beep in background. "Master, I have failed you. I must now tell you that it has been an honor to serve in your corps. Now for the final plunge."

Suddenly, the very air around them turns a pitch black, and a light starts from the center of Haruto. He lifts in to the air and practically shatters into splinters of himself, a suicide plunge. All the splinters point and fly, homing in on the group, as though flares in the night sky. There seemed to be an impossible amount, as they could not block all of them. Finally, the sky reappears, and Haruto's katanas lay in their x pattern on the ground, his final destiny fulfilled.

As the dust settles, everyone is down on the ground. Angelita rose from the ground, two very serious wounds, one on her shoulder, one on her stomach. Using her working arm, she held the wound on her stomach as she rose. She looked around at the area, seeing the damage the attack had caused. She looked to Squall and the others, praying they would be okay. Squall rose, checking a wound on his hip and left knee, and noticed two very big holes in his gunblade. Everyone in the battle had at least two wounds, and Rhinoa looked the worst. Angelita walked over to Squall and bent down next to him. "You okay?" "Good, for now. But I want to know how he did that, and how it could inflict so much damage.

Squall checks his spell amounts. "Do you have any elixirs, or maybe curagas to spare? I'm kind of short." Angelita summoned a fire-red and golden bird that soared over them all, showering a golden dust on them, restoring their hit points, but only doing so much for the wounds. "That will have to do until we get back to the garden," she said as the bird perched on her shoulder. Squall sat up. "Thank you, and might I say you did very good out there. If I hadn't already had a show, I'd have been impressed." Angelita smiled. "Thanks." She stood up and extended her hand to Squall. He took her hand to get up, and helped the others to their feet, except Rhinoa, who had lost her Achilles tendon as part of the attack. Zell carried her and they proceeded back to the garden with minimal difficulty. Angelita had the infirmary ready by the time they got there and they took care of everyone, except Angelita. She hated hospitals, even if it was her own and took care of her own wounds in her room


	4. Chapter 4

After a quick patch and a few sedatives, Squall headed to a room that was offered him and the others by the garden staff. As it turns out, this room was right down the hall from Angelita's, and Squall decided to drop in. Angelita had just finished patching up her wounds when she heard a knock at her door. "Come in," she said as she pulled down her shirt the rest of the way. Squall enters the room. "Making sure your fine, and to tell you the staff gave us a room down the hall." "Okay," she said and turned to Squall. "By the way, there's a shop in the southeast quad; I saw what happened to your gunblade." She paused and looked away a bit. "Or uh.. I could fix it up..." Squall looks at her. "Well, if you have the parts..." She looks back at him. "Parts aren't a problem..." Squall heads back towards the door. "Alright then. Just give me a minute to get it. I'll be right back." She nodded and after he had left the room held her shoulder; it was throbbing a bit and it bugged her.

Squall went back to his room and got his blade. Fortunately there was no one there. He also grabbed his weapons master magazine and headed back. When Squall returned, she released her throbbing shoulder and took a look at the damage on the gunblade; it was bad. She looked at the magazine and blinked. "You want it upgraded?" "No, it's just got some tips on this specific blade, it's already upgraded as high as it'll go." She nodded. "All right, let's see what I can do." She took out all her materials and read through the magazine.

In about half an hour or so, she managed to completely restore the blade, sharpen it, realign the barrel and clean it. She smiled up at Squall, "Finished." Squall is amazed at all that this girl can do. "That's a very good job for the amount of time you took. You most definitely know your way around a gunblade." "Not to brag, but I did make my own," she said smirking at him. Squall takes the tease. "Yes indeed." Angelita smiled and stood up. As soon as she did however, her heart froze. She caught herself on the desk. She clenched her chest, desperately trying to get her heart started again.

On the surface, the shrouded man smiled down at the ocean's surface. "Suffer, Angelita"…

"Oh, shit. Not again." He goes to the wall, and hits a communications panel. "Medical emergency, get someone down here NOW!" "You... panic too... much..." she said, forcing her heart to pump; slowly, but it was pumping. "Angelita, do you need someone to come down?" a woman said through the communicator. "No...I'll be.. fine..." She forced herself to stand, but she still hand one hand on the desk and the other on her chest. Squall stands there in wonder. "What the heck is this then? And tell me this isn't natural. Cause this is too creepy." She chuckled a bit. "It's natural in the sense that it happens often enough. But it's caused by magic; a curse if you will." He stares at her. "Now I'm confused."

She stood up straight, her heart pumping on it's own now. "My father. The ass put it on me just to see me suffer. He had a bunch of lovers, but when he found out my mother was pregnant, he killed her, which landed me in an orphanage somewhere. While I was there, he placed it on me. I still don't understand how it works exactly, but whenever he's near me and I don't know it, that happens." Squall looks away. "Holy crap. Well that explains a lot." She nodded. "Well, it's kind of complicated." Squall looks back toward her. "Well it seems straightforward the way you put it." She looks straight at him. "You don't have to put up with it." Squall has just been thinking. "Huh, oh, well, umm... anyways, now that you know he's here, you think we should go out and kick his ass or something?"

She sighed and sat down. "Remember when we met; how the ground was all scorched and crap. That was because I was fighting a fake him. He used a talisman to copy himself. And that thing only has half his strength. So I really don't want to fight him at the moment. If I am going to fight him, I want to be at my best." Squall paces a bit. "Ahh, sounds like a hard ass. Any idea's then?"

Angelita looks away. "Gramps said something about finding my past first. I don't really understand what he meant. Only thing I can come up with is about two years of my past I can't remember." Squall looks at her. "And when were these years?" She looks back up at him. "When I was a kid. It was when I was at the orphanage. I can't remember anything that happened there." Squall sits next to her. "Well, do you remember which orphanage?" She looks in another direction. "All I remember is that it was on an island somewhere. The caretaker... she always wore black... I can't remember her name though..." "Hmm..." Squall thinks to himself, that description sounds vaguely familiar. She sighed. "Well, maybe if I go back I'll remember something," she said crossing her arms. Squall stands up. "Well, I'll be happy to accompany you. When do you want to leave?" Angelita stands up as well. "First thing in the morning. I think after that battle, we all need to rest." Squall heads for the door. "Alright. I should probably see to my friends, their probably all released, well, except for Rhinoa, but that's a no-brainer." She nodded. "Go take care of your friends. I have a few things I need to do too." "Alright, and I'll see you in the morning."

Squall gets to the door, and leaves. Angelita goes over to her bed, downing some strange liquid and plops down on her bed and passes out. Squall returns to his room and checks on everyone. He then retires to a bunk and attempts to sleep, with little success. He keeps thinking on how this could have happened, and how Haruto could've learned of and used that attack.

The next morning, Angelita woke up and she did not want to do anything but sleep, but she didn't have much of a choice. She forced herself out of bed and got dressed. She readied her gunblade, spells and GF's and did a few stretches before heading to the cafeteria. Squall awakens, after a long mental struggle. He readies his equipment, and wakes the others. In the infirmary, Rhinoa is back up and running, and everyone is ready without difficulty. After a quick breakfast, they're all up on the surface with one of the garden's vehicles, which is multi-terrain. Angelita sets in the coordinates and off they went. Zell speaks up. "So, how all-terrain is this thing? Betcha it cant go through water."

"Zell, that's not a very good question to ask. But as long as we're asking questions, where exactly are we going?" "We're going to my orphanage. If nothing comes back, I've got another lead I can look up." She turned to Zell, "And yes, it can go on water." Zell sits back. "And that was supposed to be a stupid question." In the back of Squall's mind, this direction is seeming very, very familiar. After awhile of being on the water, they came across a small island with a white house on it. Angelita looked at the house, not really knowing what to expect. Zell speaks up. "Uhh, is it just me of is this familiar territory?"

Squall speaks first. "This is the orphanage where we were at as well. Maybe our meeting is not as much coincidence as it seems." "Maybe..." Angelita looked around, some memories coming back to her. She remembered how she used to pick on Seifer for being an ass and how she mainly kept to herself, but she socialized with one boy on occasion... but she couldn't remember whom. Squall leans back. "So many memories of this place..." "Glad someone remembers..." She sighed as most of her memories of this place were still hazy; she figured because she wasn't as much of a loner as she originally thought. Zell yells out. "Oh, c'mon! I remember this place like the back of my hand. There's the beach we all liked, and over there is where that one girl always hung out. Don't remember her name, but she seemed like she wanted to be isolated, unless of course Seifer was open for an ass treatment."

Angelita looked over to Zell. "That was me." Both Squall and Zell are giving blank stares. Irvine blinked. "Wait, didn't you hang out with Squall all the time?" Squall drops the stare. "Now that I think about it, I did hang around you at random times." Angelita nodded. "I'm starting to remember." She looked to Squall and the others. "Remember that one time we had to play together? We played truth or dare and my dare got Seifer in big trouble?" Irvine chuckled. "I remember that." Squall chuckles. "Yeah, that was sweet." Irvine smirks. "I remember the dare I gave you, Angie. Do you remember?" "Oh, I remember. I kicked your ass later that day for it too.

"I still don't get what Gramps meant though.." They all get off and Squall helps everyone down. "Well, lets keep looking then." Angelita nodded and she looked around the old orphanage, more memories coming back to her. Squall walks around, mentally trying to get the thought of that dare out of his head. Angelita continued looking around, most of her memories have returned, but she still didn't get what Gramps meant. Why did she need to remember what happened here? Squall comes up "Any luck?" "Not with figuring what grandpa meant..." Zell yells from inside. "Guys, check it out! The kitchen still has food in it!" Quistis goes over and asks. "What's there?" Zell is acting like he's on top of the world for finding this. "Well, I wouldn't trust the fridge, but the pantry is stuffed with all kinds of things."

"Zell, why are you even in the kitchen? You haven't cooked a day in your life." Angelita couldn't help but chuckle. It kind of reminded her of her first days in the garden she now runs. "Maybe..." she thought. "Maybe?..." Squall echoes. "Sorry, just thinking aloud." She shook her head; she wasn't sure so she didn't want to voice it just yet. Squall starts walking toward the kitchen. "Take your time. I'm gonna get Zell away from the kitchen before everything is gone."

She smiled and nodded. "Okay." As Squall went to get Zell, she stood there, leaning against the wall. She starts thinking Gramps... do you doubt my abilities that much... or is to make me stronger? In the background we hear the others. "Zell, step away from the pantry" "C'mon, I got this great idea from a show I watched a few years ago." "Exactly, YEARS." Angelita pondered her thoughts but couldn't help but chuckle as she heard Zell make a fool of himself. Okay, Gramps. I'll give it a shot. Still going on in the background. "Zell, if you get out of here, we won't bash you for making a fool of yourself anymore." "Zell, I've tasted the last thing you made, and it didn't taste at all. Give it up." Zell gives up. "Alright, but that promise has to be kept." "Guaranteed. Quistis mumbles "after your next 5 screwups." Angelita smiled a bit when a memory came to her. Quietly, she walked out the back and onto the beach they all used to go to. Looking around, she tried to remember exactly were she hid it. Zell yells at Quistis. "I heard that!"

"Zell, how about you go and help Rhinoa. I still don't think she's fully healed yet." Zell gives up. "Okay." A few seconds pass "Uh, guys, where'd Angelita go?" Quistis answers. "Probably to the beach". Angelita was still on the beach. Her memories were fuzzy so she was having a hard time trying to find what she had hid here so long ago. She shook her head at how shy she was back then; no wonder she forgot all about it. Squall is heard in the background. "I'll have somethin ready in no time." Angelita began walking towards the end of the beach; it was then the idea came to her. She looked down at the crashing waved then walked into them, not caring about her pants and boots getting wet. She crouched down and began digging into the wet sand. We hear Zell in the background. "You think I should help her?" Quistis replies. "I don't know. But if she says she wants to be left alone, you better well do it, or she may kick your ass worse than Siefer's was ever kicked"

Angelita smiled slightly as she found what she was looking for. She pulled up the box she had buried underneath the sand all those years ago. She brushed off the sand and debated about opening the box, but as of right now, she thought it best not to; she knew the others were watching or something. Zell comes, casually walking, trying to look like he is just wandering. "So, how's it goin?" Angelita stood up, the box under her arm. "Think I'm finally getting the idea of what Gramps meant, but I'm not entirely sure." Zell nods "Cool." Squall yells from the house "CHOW'S ON". Angelita blinked. "He could actually make something?" Zell pouts "Don't ask me, I wanted to make something, but I got booted out." "Go figure," she smirked. Squall comes to the door. "C'mon, it's getting cold!" Do I dare to try it? She sighed and went inside; she might as well see what he made. Outlaid on the table was a big pot, full with noodles in a thick liquid.

"I learned this one during my first days at Balamb. It may look bad, but its good, and can be made in a hurry." Angelita was just sort of staring; she wasn't really used to upper world food. Squall comes up "C'mon, its not that bad." "I'm... just not used to it..." "Believe me, its better than some of the stuff we've had in the past several months. Just try it." To try to make her less freaked out; he takes a bowl and starts to fill it, then starts eating it. "If you want there's some spices in the kitchen."

Angelita made herself a small bowlful and tried it. It was okay but she still preferred her garden's recipes. "See, for what I had on hand this stuff isn't bad, is it?" "Guess not." They ate for a while, Angelita poking hers for most of the time. The reason Angelita was poking at her food was because there was a lot on her mind. What would she do if they ran into her father while they were up here? The bastard was talented at tormenting her like this and she hated it. Squall finishes, and takes his dishes into the kitchen area. The others soon follow, and all the dishes are cleaned in short order. Afterwards, they are all grouped in the main living area.

"So, have we accomplished what we came for or what?" "Yeah... I think so..." She still had the box with her and she was kind of thankful no one had asked her what it was. "I CALL SHOTGUN!" "Don't even try it." Angelita shrugged and just left the orphanage and got back into the vehicle and waited for everyone else to get in. Everyone piled in, and sat in the silence of the engine as they returned to the garden.


	5. Chapter 5

We see the gang in the vehicle headed to the vehicle entrance of the garden. Before they could return to the entrance however, they were attacked by something. It looked like a fire-type spell, but it was much stronger than firaga. Squall yells out. "Shit!" Zell joins in. "What was that" Squall replies. "Something that's not ours." Angelita growled and skid to a stop. She jumped out of the vehicle and ran towards the source of the attack. Irvine took point, and the rest moved forward, ready for anything. Angelita growled, her fears correct; her father did decide to attack them.

We see the Shrouded man in the foreground, but no longer shrouded. "Didn't expect you on the surface so soon, Angelita." Zell is confused. "Who the hell is that?" Squall answers for her. "I think that's her father." Zell looks back. "Oh shit." Quistis speaks up. "I'm thinking the same thing." Squall looks around. "Can't we go one day without getting ambushed by something. Everyone ready?" He raised an eyebrow. "_You're_ going to rely on _others_? Now there's a switch."

Angelita growled. She wanted nothing more than to kill this freak, but she knew it wasn't that easy. Zell stresses a point. "Dude, have you even heard of Ultimecia, or the fact that we pounded her flatter than a pancake?" Squall defends her. "She offered hospitality, nothing more." He scoffed, he knew his daughter better than that. "I thought you never let anyone in on your battles. Remember last time we met?" "Shut up, Harley!" She was seriously getting pissed and it was pretty obvious. Irvine is really pissed now. "Screw this" He loads rifle with sniper rounds and fires a barrage of bullets. Harley smirked and the bullets stopped in mid air then dropped to the ground, clattering. "Pathetic." Irvine is even more pissed. "DAMNIT!" Zell too is getting pissed. "Get your ass down here, and meet the devastation of our fury." Harley laughs. "If that's all you can do, it would be a waste of my precious time." Zell yells, "Don't even think to start pushing my buttons."

Squall gives his remarks. "I still think that he doesn't know WHO Ultimecia was, much less the fact that she is dead at our hands." Angelita looks back at them. "Don't underestimate him. Trust me, he has enough to back up this shit." We hear form Selphie for the first time in a while. "I figured it out!" Quistis is still level headed. "Figured what out?" "How Haruto did that attack." Zell now looks back to her. "You can't be serious" "I am." "At least someone else figured it out..." Angelita thought as she watched her father's movements. She was the only one who knew what he could do. Squall stands, ready to reign forth devastation, but waits for the greatest opportunity to strike. Zell stands defiant to the last, ready and willing to unleash Doomtrain, and wipe this man from the face of the planet. Irvine loads his rifle with his most powerful rounds, ready to take the final shot, and end this conflict.

Harley shook his head. "Truly pathetic. Why do you surround yourself with such weaklings, Angelita?" Angelita sighed, "Not this shit again." Out of anger, Irvine shoots three more rounds, even though he knows they are useless. "Damnit Irvine, don't waste your ammo." Harley smirked as the rounds simply fell before they reached him. "Such hostility." "And you're just an insane asshole." She waved her hand and used a Thundara, getting past her father's barrier and did significant damage. Seeing this, Quistis unleashes three simultaneous firagas, hoping to see them penetrate.

He stumbled back, the firagas doing some damage, but not as much as the Thundara. He growled, Angelita told them how to get past his barrier. "Why the hell are we wasting our time?" Zell unleashes spell after spell, and even tries Doomtrain on this insane prick. Harley took on the onslaught of spells. He had to get out of there before they actually did some serious damage. He cast reflect and the last few spells reflected back at them and he ran, disappearing without a trace.

Angelita was breathing a bit heavily, but her breaths eventually evened out. She was kind of wounded from the spells that her father reflected back, but she was just tired from using up so much magic; it wasn't exactly her strong suit. Zell starts running towards where Harley left. "DAMNIT, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" Squall has a question. "Just for clarification Angelita, what the hell was blocking our physical attacks?" She answers simply. "A barrier spell. He can max out the potential of any spell." Zell returns. "Damn him"

Squall stoops down. "Okay, I'll give him kudos' for that. By the way, Selphie, how did you figure out that attack?" She replies. "Studying the kamikaze from Cactaur, you just have to mod it with a high hit level, and his card." "Ok, but where's his card?" "Her father had it." "And how do you know?" "Cause when I saw the spell's work, I decided to try a draw, and this is what I got." She holds up Haruto's card. Angelita nodded. "Haruto did that for the purpose of trying to please my father. I can tell you from first hand experience that it isn't easy." Squall stands back up. "So, do you think we can make a defense against this thing or what?" Angelita thought about it for a moment. "Thing I learned while fighting my father. Have a lot of Reflects and Potions. And I suggest you increase your tolerance to fire and earth. Those are his favorites to use. And have a lot of ice and thunder spells. He tends to be weakest to those."

Squall walks back towards the car. "Alright. And tell me he doesn't have that GF thing, like Haruto did." Angelita shakes her head. "No, he doesn't have that, but he does have a couple powerful GF's." The all start to follow him. "Sounds like the makings of a monumental battle here." Angelita puts it simply. "Let's put it this way. Whenever the two of us actually fight, it's like a small world war." Squall speaks up. "Well, we'll make this a full scale world war, and I guarantee Lionheart is going to show up." Squall strokes his gunblade. Angelita smiled slightly. "Thanks." Zell makes an attempt at a joke. "We should make our motto 'Slay the monstrously insane!'"

"We'll help you get him." She nodded. "We better get back to the garden." Squall wonders something. "Besides location, does your garden have any defenses?" Angelita looks towards him. "We don't have to worry about an attack if that's what you mean." Squall looks to her. "Alright, but tell me your students have their own weapons. Don't want people to go down without doing damage." She blinked. "The first years don't. But they're not fighting. None of the students are. They wouldn't hold up." Zell interrupts. "That sucks." "Anyways, lets get back, so we don't get a counterattack." Angelita nodded and drove everyone back to the garden.

As they re-entered the garden, Squall goes immediately to the armory, and grabs as much ammo and spells as possible. Angelita went to her room and stared at the box she dug up from the orphanage. A few thoughts were going through head. "I guess I should..." Everyone else goes to the room they had, and came up with a battle plan, and they brought all available aspects up to maximum. All spells were divided evenly, and everyone was brought to full hp. Angelita made her decision. Now all that was to do was get his attention. "I'll tell Squall later. Right now, I better rest up." Everyone gets a quick meal, and rests up, except Selphie.

As a last ditch resort, she learns the attack from Haruto, and learns it so she won't do damage to her fellows. Angelita didn't go down for food. She simply changed into her pjs and hopped into bed, but couldn't seem to sleep. As sleep grabbed him, Squall wonders, how such people can become so evil. He lies awake for hours, just concentrating on the subject. He goes to the kitchenette in their room and makes a home remedy of a sleeping aide. There he meets Selphie, of whom he is surprised to see up. "What are you doing up?" "Oh, me, uhh... nothing. Why? "You should be resting." "Right, uhh, well goodnight." Selphie goes to her bunk, and mulls over her decision. She is sure that this will help in the short term, but the longtime effects may be devastating. She thinks about this all night, getting absolutely no rest.

Morning came and sleep didn't come to Angelita. Not that she really needed sleep, but just lying there was boring so she meditated most of the time. That was all the rest she really needed. Tyler had tried to see her that morning, but she locked the door and stayed quiet, the illusion she left when she wanted to be alone and it made Tyler assume that she had left to go train. She looked at the contents of the box she had long buried on the orphanage grounds for quite some time, and then put it back in the box. She knew what she wanted to do with it. Now it was all a matter of timing.

Squall awakes, along with the others, and they all get ready. Selphie is moving sluggishly, you can tell she got no sleep. Angelita didn't bother going down to the cafeteria, she wasn't hungry. Instead, she simply went to her office to take care of some other matters. The rest do go down to the cafeteria, grab a quick meal, and regroup back at the room. Tyler went to the room, knocking on the door. Squall is first to answer. "It's open. Come on in." Tyler went in, but only a few feet. "Squall, you need to go see Angelita. She wants to talk to you." Squall heads for the door. "Alright. You guys, wait here."

He follows Tyler to their destination. Tyler led Squall to Angelita's office and let him in, then went back to his other duties. "Thank you." He turns to Angelita "You needed to see me?" Angelita looked up, blinking. She sighed slightly, silently cursing Tyler in her mind. He always did know her inside and out. She might as well do it now, since Tyler got him to come in. She stood up and held the box she dug up from the orphanage out to Squall. "Let me guess, this is what you went to the orphanage for." She nodded. "Yeah. Here, I want you to have it." He takes the box, unsure of its contents.

"What is it?" "It's a GF I found years ago, before I went to the orphanage. Its name is Galeon." Squall turns it over in his hands. "And why do you want me to have it?" Angelita smiled slightly. "You'll find out when you use it." Squall thinks to himself, why do I get the feeling that this here will be a fate decider? "Thank you, and tell me if this is one of those kamikaze things now, instead of when I use it, please." She chuckled. "No, it's not a kamikaze thing." "Alright. And on a side note, when do you think we should leave?" She looked off to the side. "I can't go after him for awhile." "Alright. If you need anything else, you know where I am." She nodded and dismissed Squall to do whatever he wanted.

Squall heads back to the room, grabs his blade, and goes to the training center, with Irvine in tow. They stay there until about lunch, when they head back for food. Angelita went to sleep after taking a couple of pills right after Squall left. Tyler was in line with his students for the day. He just got done giving a demo and now they were taking a lunch break. Squall meets with Tyler for lunch, and they talk over lunch. "So, what did Angie want?" "She told me about her father and some ways to defeat him if the need arised." He felt that it would be too sensitive a subject to bring up Galeon just now. "Heh, she never talks about her pops. I'm surprised she's even letting you help her fight him." Squall shrugs. "Who knows? This kind of hospitality has been unparalleled in our entire journey. Even my garden never had some of the stuff that you guys have here. So your guess is as good as mine." Tyler leaned back in his chair, a small smirk across his face. He knew why Angie was being nice and everything, but it wasn't like he was about to say anything. "Yeah, I guess." An interesting thought crossed Squall's mind, but he dismissed it, for now.

"So long as were here, I know I wouldn't want to be a bad houseguest. Do you have anything here that you need help with?" "You've done enough by helping with the demonstrations. If we need ya, we'll let ya know." "Alright. Unless you need anything, I'm going to our room. I'll see you later. He nods and waves Squall off, leaving to go somewhere himself. Squall and Irvine head back to the room and make sure everything they have is ready to leave with at a moments notice.


	6. Chapter 6

Later that night, Angelita awoke, finally. She got up, feeling anxious. She went to the training center for a small workout. Squall and the others have readied themselves and are talking amongst themselves in their room. Angelita did not leave the training center at all that night. As the others go to sleep, Squall heads for the training center to test out Galeon. Angelita was in the highest section of the training center, just slashing through monsters with her gunblade. Squall heads for the middle range area and starts against two t-rexaurs. Angelita just keeps fighting her battles. Squall starts the battle off on his own, and brings in Galleon halfway. The attack is so devastating, that the back wall almost gives out. He stares in disbelief. "Holy Shit!"

He heads to the higher levels and tries it versus an Iron Guard. As he summons him, the guard tries an attack, but Galleon reflects it, and his attack is just that much stronger. The room is lager, so the attack dissipates before it does any damage to the center. "Okay, I'm lost. Why would she give me such a powerful GF, when I bet it would be better off in her hands?" Angelita stopped her battles when she heard Galeon's roar. She smirked a bit and goes about her training. Still confused, Squall does three more battles that night in that same center. Angelita left around the same time Squall did. She needed to figure out a way to track down her father so she could kill the bastard. Squall leaves, still wondering why she gave Galleon to him.

He's so occupied by this thought that on the way out he bumps into Angelita without even knowing she's there. Angelita blinks. She didn't expect to run into him while leaving. "Oh, hello..." Squall straightens up. "Oops, sorry 'bout that. So is this where you've been all day?" "No, just all night," she said, smiling a bit. "This is bugging me to no end. Why did you give me Galleon? I think you'd be better off with it, especially with your skills with GF's." She smiled a bit. "Because he's meant for you, not me." "Ookay, still confused, but now I know why I work so well with him." She chuckled a bit. "So, I take you like him." "Better then Eden. But how do you know I was destined for him? And why is it now after I met you, and this psycho-bitch that's known as your father?" Angelita chuckled. She shook her head a bit and just walked out of the training center. Squall follows, still confused. "Alright, I'll drop the questions, but just to let you know, I'm confused beyond reason."

…We see a man on the surface, a communicator in his hand. "I'm telling you, that was a flawless plan. Its not my fault he got trapped." "I had better not be hearing of your failure anytime soon, or your card will not return." "Whatever. Anyways, I'm where you wanted me, and I haven't been seen. Whenever they show up, Thorden will teach them to fear us." "JUST DONT FAIL ME LIKE HARUTO!" "Don't blow a shit fit Harley. I'm an expert at this, remember? "I'm just a bit edgy from that last attack. Keep a level head and you won't wind up meeting him, Sephran"…

Squall and Angelita continue on until they are in the hall with their rooms. Angelita went into her own room. Since she slept all day, she stayed up and looked up crap on her laptop. Squall returns to his room to find everyone but Selphie asleep. Selphie sits in a corner, looking distraught. "What's up?" "Oh, hey Squall...umm, its kind of late for you to be up. "Same to you. Why are you up anyway?" "Uhh...no reason, just couldn't sleep." "Well I suggest you try, and that's where I'm headed. Good Night" "Yeah...good night."

Morning came and Angelita was in the cafeteria. She hadn't eaten yesterday due to the long period of sleep so she was eating a bit more than usual. Squall woke before the rest, and was glad to see Selphie asleep, even if it was on the couch. Squall heads for the cafeteria, grabs some food, and meets with Angelita.

"Anything you want to do today?" She swallowed the food that was in her mouth before speaking. "I'm going up top after breakfast." "Need some accompaniment? Everyone else is still asleep." She shrugged. "If you wanna tag along, I don't mind." "Alright." They finish their food in good time, and Squall grabs his stuff before meeting back up with Angelita. Angelita was waiting near the entrance to the garden. Once Squall met up with her, they boarded the train and got to the surface.

Sephran smirks as he steps out of hiding. "Welcome, to your permanent hell." He summons a GF to the field, and an attack like that of Doomtrain comes out, except the GF is a bird. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha! I am Sephran, and you are at your end." Thorden ends its attack and Sephran jumps on it and flies away. Meanwhile the two are left struck with doom, sleep, and multiple other spells.

Zell and Tyler come to the surface, and see the aftermath of the attack. With an elixir he carries on him always, for a case such as this, Tyler cures them of all visible spells. "What the hell was that?" Angelita rubbed her head and looked up. "I have no idea... " Squall speaks it for them. "Another helper." "GOD DAMNIT! Well, looks like another complication to the plan. She stood up. "And from the looks of it, this guy knows a lot about GF's." Zell helps Squall up. "So, we kick his ass like we did that other guy's. What's the big deal? The fact that on an impulse decision, he was waiting for us here, and security didn't even pick him up. That's the big deal. Tyler helps Angelita to her feet. "He's stronger than Haruto. I know it." "For now, lets regroup, and find some good defenses to put up against him." Angelita nodded in agreement and they went back to the garden. They get inside and group in Angelita's office.

Meanwhile, Sephran returns, moving fluidly into the chamber for the train. Using a decoder unit and well-used slicing techniques, he bypasses the codes to call the car. He enters the garden unnoticed and immediately heads for the maintenance tunnels where he could easily drop on anyone, anywhere.

Angelita became uneasy. Her gut was telling her that they had to find a way to beat this guy and fast, before he did any real, irreversible damage.

Sephran finds the shaft that leads to Angelita's office. He parks himself right near a ventilation shaft. Immediately he hears the conversation continue.

"What about a full on assault? We force him into the open and strike with the strongest stuff we have." "Wouldn't work. He appears to be an expert at staying hidden. What we need is a trap, but how do we lure him into it?"

Sephran brings out another GF, one as small as a mouse, and summons it. It releases a gas attack with sleep a major portion of it.

What we need is bait, but what" Quistis sees the gas coming from the vent. "Uhh, we may want to get out." She points toward the vent. "SHIT, GET OUT!" Angelita ran to the door and opened, telling the others to get out, her being the last.

Sephran busts out of the shaft right in the path of everyone exiting the room. He summons a ghoul-like beast that unleashes a flame attack that does moderate damage to everyone but Angelita. He then retreats to the exit, hoping to out beat the rest of them.

Squall busts out his gunblade and fires rounds at Sephran. Irvine does the same, and they succeed in damaging him severely. They run at him, but he closes the door just before they get there. "DAMNIT, HE GOT AWAY!" "We saw, and now we know he's even more dangerous. Even here is not a safe haven." Angelita was deep in thought. She swore she's seen him somewhere before.

…Sephran gets to the surface, and summons Thorden to fly him out. He opens a communication to Harley. "It's a go, but they got me with their weapons. I told you, I DONT HAVE GOOD RESISTANCE AGAINST PHYSICAL ATTACKS! "The mission's done, that's all that matters. Get back here and I'll patch you up"…

Squall stands looking toward the others. "He is dangerous, I'll give him that. But our attacks got him severely, and they were physical. This is an advantage we must take advantage of. First, tell security to redo the security codes. Then, lets find some bait." Angelita nodded. "I'll meet you guys in the quad," she said and left. They went back to their room and got everything they needed for a complete journey. They regrouped in the quad, just as Angelita said. Angelita met with them there, a sheet of paper in her hand. "Lets rock and roll!"

Squall looks at the sheet. "What you got there?" "That bastard's sheet." She handed it to Squall. "Where'd you get that?" "Sephran's not the only one that knows how to hack." "Nice." He looks it over. "Nice resume. Wanna bet he's with your father?" "All ready confirmed that." "Let's crash the party."

…In a dark room, we hear Sephran's voice, "Damnit, I don't need those... I TOLD YOU I'M FINE!" He walks out to a high balcony. "If I were you, I'd fire that medical staff. They use too much stuff, and give you too much attention. Not the thing you want in an evil lair." "Hey, is this YOUR private residence? No. SO DON'T COMPLAIN! Anyways, you might want this." "What is it?" "It'll help your physical resistance. It won't last to long if only you use it, but if you junction it with one of your GF's..." "Its effect would last longer and work better. All right. So what next on the Agenda?" "I figure some random attacks on innocents, causing general chaos, usual evil things." "Works for me. If you need me, I'll be in a PROPER evil hideout. A dark hole in the ground with a quick escape and not noticeable from above." "And remember, the price of failure is great. Haruto was lucky he had that attack, or else he would have faced my ruthless rage." "Hah, I'm the one who taught him that, and there's plenty more where that came from. But enough about kamikaze's and rage, I gotta get going." He summons Thorden and flies off to a secluded spot on the continent. He brings Thorden down to a boulder outcropping, of which he enters through to an open cavern that is vastly empty. "I don't know what he's thinking. THIS is an evil lair"…


	7. Chapter 7

They head to the surface, and immediately start heading to the southwest. Squall speaks to the group. "Alright here's how we should do this. Sephran is obviously talented with GF's. So why not give him the greatest GF there is. I will go into town and start to see if anyone will challenge me for Eden. Word will spread that I am doing this, and Sephran will most definitely want to come claim him. And that's when we jump him. Any objections?" Angelita comes in front of him and stops him. "Yeah, it's called that not just anyone will come after you. Someone needs to instigate it." She gives him a toyish smile. "Alright, so you guy's start off against me, and that will start it. Anything else, or can we get going?"

They arrive in the city of Sranton, back where they defeated Haruto, and started it off. Zell was first, and Squall defeated him no prob. By the time that was done, there was a crowd, and no one else from the party had to do it again. Battles continue for about a half hour, with no one yet defeating Squall. Then, Squall delivers his ultimatum. "If no one here can beat me, why did this get started?" From a building behind him, Sephran jumps off the roof to get to Squall. "Because there is a person who can take it from you." "Let's begin then." Sephran immediately summons Thorden, but Squall Summoned Galleon, and Thorden went down, hard. Squall comes out with Lionheart, and immediately starts to slash away at him. Sephran then summons a GF that does nothing but push Squall back.

"Hey Sephran!" Now encircled by the group, Sephran has nowhere to run. Angelita draws her gunblade. "Your toast, and no mercy will be shown to you." Everyone busts out physical attacks, Angelita starts with a slash down his midsection. Irvine takes shots at greatest opportunities. Angelita tries another disabling talisman on Sephran. But this time, the GF he was summoning took it. And the GF had its own kamikaze. It unleashed a massive earthquake that cracked the ground and threw everyone away from him, except Selphie. She raises herself up, and delivers the final blow. "Your own work goes against you." Selphie does Haruto's attack, but this time, all the splinters point and fly at Sephran. When the dust settles, Sephran and Selphie are no more.

The rest of the group stands and regroups on the outskirts of the city. Squall is hanging his head. "I can't believe she did that." They stand there, until another man shows up, Harley. "Well well well, if it isn't the incompetents. Sephran was a terrible loss, but I find that you have made the dragon come from his cave. Believe me, it will be an honor to kill you." Angelita looks up in disgust. "You, care about honor? Hah, the best you could do is give us a warm-up round. Bring it you stupid bitch." Angelita brings out something, and Squall brings out the spell to summon Galleon. "Very well then, I will do what needs to be done.

Harley starts with a spell that sends everyone flying, except Angelita and Squall, both items they brought out, they activated, and they took the brunt of the attack, but Galleon is knocked down to 0 hp, and is useless. Squall is now majorly pissed, and starts after Harley, slashing away with a ruthless rage. Angelita starts on him too with a GF of her own that unleashes an ice attack. Squall brings out Eden, and the attack is nearly done, when the attack is reflected back. Squall and Angelita are down, and Harley brings out a dagger. "Now to finish the strongest."

"Don't think so." Out comes Tyler, holding a machine gun. "You will not take Angelita without going through me!" Tyler starts firing blindly; you can tell he's never handled the weapon before. Harley starts to advance on him, just as Angelita and Squall start to get up. Angelita looks over, and watches as Harley kills Tyler with his dagger. Angelita immediately stands up. "DAMN YOU!" She looks down only to see her gunblade in half. Squall is finally on his feet, but he is on the verge of collapse. He looks over to see the broken gunblade. "Here, take mine, I'm useless now." He collapses back to the ground. Immediately, Angelita gets a Limit Break, but it's a new one, Angel Heart. She starts running after Harley, and starts the attack. "Take this, you fucking bitch!" The attack is devastating, doing ten times more damage than Lionheart. At the end, Harley is on his knees, breathing heavily, and out of energy. "You stupid bitch, NEVER underestimate your own children." By now, everyone has risen, and comes to encircle Harley. "Then this is my end. Kill me swiftly, so I won't feel the pain." Angelita drops Lionheart. "I could never kill you. That would be cowardly." She turns on her heel and starts walking away. Squall picks up his blade, and everyone but Irvine leaves. Irvine levels his rifle at Harley's head. "Swiftly it is", and he pulls the trigger.


End file.
